Livewell for the Vehicle

[niko]

had a 30g insulated keepalive. was great. would keep herring for days. as far as the cooler - try it. round would be a better shape. w/ the herring moratorium there are alot around collecting dust so put up a post in the classifieds.

[rickhern]

Whatever system you use, if you are snagging, be sure to let the baits bleed out before putting them in the livewell, and then , only use the healthy ones. A little blood will kill them quick in tight confines.

[stiff tip]

if u r moving pogies ,remember bigger is better 4 transporting 2gal = 1 pogie . make your own w/ 55gal drum cut in half or layed on its side ...use commerical grade airator or a 1100+ gpm bilge pump . or both .. k.i.m. 1gal =8lbs .no blood in tank.keep it foam free w/ a salteen cracker.block of ice to chill saltwater. ovel is better than squaire. a good batt...for 10-12 pogies for 2hrs u need at least 30 gal tank...... or find one cheap from a x herrin chocker....or c raider ronnie .......dave ..re..former herrin transporter

[NIB]

Right on with the bleeders, the blood clogs their gills..When snagging I would have two pails.One for transport to the truck and another to bleed em out in that has to be changed with every bleeder..
You to handle them as little as possible.You will remover their slime.Picky bass can tell when a fish has it's slime removed.They will just play wit em.I guess it is harder to get em down.
Cabela's 50 gallon round tank is awesome.It can probably hold up to a dozen baits with cool water no problem.For air it is hard to beat the Dayton pump.It's shaped like a coffe can and draws .08 amps.Run a line with a quick connection.I used light gage extension cords...

[NIB]

This little pump is all you need.Not bad money and draws around 1/4 amp..Get a better stone diffuser.I could not find the Dayton pumps.A friend has this one.It's so quite you can't tell if it's running..Keeping the water cool and fresh is as or more important than the amount of air..I use plastic pepsi bottles with frozen water in em.You do not want to add ice with bunker.They don't like the fresh water.I do use a Keep Alive water additive.It promotes fish slime,keeps em calm. That's good as they are more active when stressed which in turn they will need more oxygen.Don't over do it..You could fashion a tank from a plastic 60 gallon drum also.Lots of guys I now use em.The car wash places get their soap in these and have em for nothing..Cut it a little bigger than half.You can make a top out of 3/4 plywood set down about 3 inches.This keeps the water from going all over when filling with a pail..Screw it in from the sides.Some silicone..Cut out a door,use a hinge and a little closer lock..I would suggest to poly the lid..Install a drain cock on the bottom.Or as close to the bootom as you can..Your going to have to be inventive here.Use A Marine grade chaulk/sealant.A drain with a valve helps.With a detachable hose.Some don't use a valve,They tape off a S hook on the hose and secure it above the water line..You will use this to drain water(da).You will need at least of foot of water in a pail to transport your bait to your fishing location.I have made maybe 5 or six of these over the years.We used to have a 200 gallon tank for group Bunker/herring runs.You can penn Bunker also.If they have enough room they will last quite a while as long as the water is cool..If you want a I can take a pic of my set-up.It used to be THE way to fish for large in the spring/summer here in NJ..

[Chris in Mass]

Good info here guys. As I head down this path, I'll share my trials and tribulations.

RR - Pm'd ya.

Niko/Rick - looks like round is the way to go and watch for bleeders - got it.

Stiff Tip - 2 gal =1 Pogie Being a geek engineer by trade, much appreciated, with all the other good info stuffed in your post.

NIB - Took a ride to the car wash today. Prognosis is looking pretty good to snag a drum tomorrow from the manager Don't want to put you out for a picture just yet. If I get rolling on a home built. I may take you up on it. The KeepAlive Aerator looks like they move/filter water and inject bubbles at the same time. Are you suggesting that the bubbler (in your picture) is all you need? This would certainly cut down on the amps required.

[NIB]

Originally Posted by Chris in Mass

Good info here guys. As I head down this path, I'll share my trials and tribulations.

RR - Pm'd ya.

Niko/Rick - looks like round is the way to go and watch for bleeders - got it.

Stiff Tip - 2 gal =1 Pogie Being a geek engineer by trade, much appreciated, with all the other good info stuffed in your post.

NIB - Took a ride to the car wash today. Prognosis is looking pretty good to snag a drum tomorrow from the manager Don't want to put you out for a picture just yet. If I get rolling on a home built. I may take you up on it. The KeepAlive Aerator looks like they move/filter water and inject bubbles at the same time. Are you suggesting that the bubbler (in your picture) is all you need? This would certainly cut down on the amps required.

The keep alive sucks..The motor is in the water.That adds heat..The filter that surrounds the unit gets clogged from scales.There's tons of scales..It makes a terrible foam. This is bad as surface foam depletes oxygen..Too many things to go wrong..You can't afford to have hard to get baits go bad on ya.Especially when it counts..Check out a site called aquaticeco .com They specialize in this sort of things.Call em for a catalog to blow your mind up..Like I said I use a similar low amp pump it works great.All you need is some air.You don't need to blow there scales off.Other factors like I mentioned are more important for healthy baits.
First and foremost is plenty of room..I would say In my experience for the bunk, 4-5 gallons of water per bait is a good formula..Keeping it cool with fresh changes is important also.
So lets say you have a 35 gallon tank..If ya get your bait before sunrise You can jam maybe 8 or 10 in there..Maybe you use 4-6 baits.With a change of water after the morning fishing.If you can keep it cool you'll have some for the late afternoon run..Cool water does two things it slows the bait down, they stress less and use less oxygen and it holds the oxygen better..
IMO the difference between the 36 gallon tank and the 50 is huge.
It has a greater diameter which they seem to like.Plus the obvious of more water per bait..If I could make any suggestions it would be to get the larger tank if you can..

Your gonna love this as they go nuts for live's..If they are there you'll raise em..I also use a little bucket bubbler. It's screwed to my pail so I can drag 2 baits with me to the fishing spots.I use a 7 gallon pail with enough water in it to cover the baits..This gets me to the water.Some spots are a good walk back and forth with the bucket..Can be a PITA.Once at the waters edge I will fill it up..The ocean here is usually cooler in the summer months.The blend of tank and ocean water will help to keep em from getting shocked from the cooler ocean water..I have had what appeared to be nice baits roll over when ya set em in..

[NIB]

Originally Posted by NIB

This little pump is all you need...You could fashion a tank from a plastic 60 gallon drum also.Lots of guys I now use em.The car wash places get their soap in these and have em for nothing..Cut it a little bigger than half.You can make a top out of 3/4 plywood set down about 3 inches.This keeps the water from going all over when filling with a pail..Screw it in from the sides.Some silicone..Cut out a door,use a hinge and a little closer lock..I would suggest to poly the lid...

Classic case of too much info at one time I guess..

[Krispy]

Might want to think about a larger drain valve. 3/4" will take forever to empty. I use 3" petcocks on my tanks at home

[Chris in Mass]

Originally Posted by Krispy

Might want to think about a larger drain valve...

I was just glad to find something at the bog box stores that would work and I really wanted the 90 degree. If it gets annoying, I'll swap it out this summer.

Originally Posted by GattaFish

Nice tank,,,,, I would have used laminating epoxy to seal the wood top before installing it then caulked it into place,,,,,

Yes - Lesson learned. A V8 moment for sure and I missed it in NIB's earlier post. It'll be a little cumbersome to do it now, but I got all winter

Originally Posted by stiff tip

...if you can put the pogies in a live cart when you get there its better...

Hey thanks for all your help. This will be the next winter fishing project.

Originally Posted by Saltheart

...So that's a vote for Keep alive but i have to say that trying to catch and keep bait alive in your motor vehicle is the single biggest PITA in fishing! ...

Where were you when I started this thing I'm going with the school of NIB for now - bubbles only (plus enclosed ice and some other additives). If they start dying out in numbers, I'll revisit what you and Stiff Tip are suggesting.